Rotary acetylene torch



Sept. 18, [928, 1,684,476 F. J. CULLEN ET AL ROTARY ACETYLENE TORCH Filed Dec. 27, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Frank J. Ogllen Peter E. Bznder Clarence C. Hansbman am GWWA 'tance above the oil level.

I Patented Sept. 18, 1928.

UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

1mm .1. OULL'EN, or cuLvnn c'rrY, PETER n. BINDER, or EL shame, cum ENGE c. msmuan', or LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, assiemonsro STANDARD OIL comm or CALIFORNIA, or SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, a conronazrron or DELAWARE.

ROTARY AGETY LENE TORCH.

' When fires occur in oil storage tanks, they may be extinguished by supplying a, quantity of foaming solutions which' are projected onto the surface of the burning oil. This 5 foam operates as a blanket and excludes the air in such a way as to extinguish the fire. The efiiciency, however, of this method of extinguishing a fire, depends somewhat upon the manner of delivering the foam onto the liquid, and it has been found ineifective to deliver it into the tank at a considerable dis- Qf course the oil level in these storage tanks varies considerably. I The general object of this invention is to provide an apparatus which can be used to cut or burn an opening in the wall of a tank near the level of the burning oil, so as to provide for supplying thefoam to the interior of the tank just above the level of the burning oil. i

The invention contemplates the use of a burning torch to burn or cut an opening in the tank wall, and one of the objects ofthe;

invention is to provide simple meansfor supporting and guiding this torch. to move around on the wall of the. tank in such a way as to cut an opening through it; also to provide simple means for maintaining a gas con- 39 nection to the burner or torch during this operation.

A further obiect of the invention is to provide a device of this kind which is of simple construction and which can be quickly set up at the side of the tank and adjusted so as to cut the opening slightly above the oil level. I

' Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts 40 and combination of parts to be described hereinafter. all of which contribute to produce an efiicient rotary acetylene torch. I

A preferred embodiment of the. invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is I pointed out in the'appended claims. 7

4 In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus,.certain parts being broken away. Figure 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus, certain parts being broken away, and m dicating how it is setup against the wall of the tank.

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken about on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; this view is upon an enlarged scale.-

Figure 4- is a cross section taken about on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, upon. an enlarged scale.

In practicing the invention, we provide a I supporting frame 1 which preferably comprises a forward leg 2 and a back leg'3. The forward leg preferably comprises a body. composed of telescoping sections 4, 4 of tubular form. At its lower emFthe forward leg comprises two laterally extending feet 5, the lower portions of which are in the form of a how 6. These bows are adapted to rest upon the ground so as to give the front bracket 10 which is attached to the upper- I most section 4 of the front leg, the said bracket being formed as part of an upwardly extendingyoke 11. l

These back leg sections 8 are of tubular form and their lower ends are provided with extensible feet or extensions 12 which terminate in points 13 at theirlower ends toengage the ground. If desired, the sections 8 of the back leg may beprovided with extension joints 14, enabling these legs to be made of any length desired.

The supporting frame supports a torch. which is carried in a rotatable frame, and

means is provided for rotatingthis frame so that the torch moves around in a circle on the face of the tank wall. In order to accomnlish this, we provide a guide frame 15 (see Fig. 1),.which is of circular form and pivotally-attached at diametrically opposite. points to the upper ends of the arms. of the yoke 11, as indicated at the points. 16. This. guide frame is of annular form and guides the retary frame, which consists of a ring gear 17 mounted to rotate on its axis between guide The torch is mounted on a carriage 23 which operates to hold the end of the torch near the side wall of the tank, indicated by the line 24 in Fig. 2 and slightly above the oil level 24. The carriage 23 consists of a.

cross head or plate having tubular legs 25 with rollers 26 at their ends to roll upon the tank wall. The legs 25 are guided on fixed stems 27 which are mounted in the bracket 20. i

The torch has a swivel connection with the carriage for which purpose the torch is attached to a sleeve 28,which rotates in a hearing 29 formed in'the bracket, the lower end of said sleeve being rotatably mounted in the cross head 23.

- Means is provided for yieldingly-holding the torch adjacent to the wall of the tank. For this purpose, a coil spring 30 is provided, disposed around the sleeve 28 and thrusting-against the inner side of the bracket 20. This spring exerts its force in such a way as to hold the rollers 26 of the carria e against the wall of the tank. Y The axes of the rollers 26 are located on a substantially radial gaged by the edge of the guide frame 15 use an oxy-acetylen'e line from the center of the ring gear so that they will track properly as the ring gear rotates. WVith this arrangement, it will be evident that when the rotary frame is rotating, the torch will describe a circle of any desired diameter, such as indicated by the dotted line 31 in Fig. 1.

In order to' limit the swinging movement of the guide frame 15 at the pivot points 16, we provide an inner yoke 32, the ends of which are provided with laterally projecting guard lips 33. These lips will be enand limit its swinging movement.

Any suitable means is provided for rotatin the rotary frame from the ground; For t is purpose, we have illustrated a worm 34 which meshes with the teeth of the ring gear, the shaft 35 of this worm being oonnected by a jointed rod or. flexible connection 36 with a shaft 37 which extends down toward the ground, at which point atcrank 38 is provided for rotating the shaft. This shaftmay be provided with joints 39, enabling it to be constructed of as many sections as desired to give it the proper length to enable it to reac the ground.

:Ihe torch is supplied with gas to give the flame sufficient temperature to melt the wall of the tank where the flame comes in cony pass up as removed, so as to expose the tubing, thereby enabling the drawing to be more intelligible. The upper ends of the tubes 41 'are attached to pipe connections 43 which extend into the swivel sleeve 28-and are attached to it. In the present instance, we haveprovided three ofthese tubes 40 which enables two kinds of oxygen to be provided, for example, welding oxygen and cutting oxygen.

The sections 4 of the front leg are provided with set screws 44 which enable them to be secured in any extended position desired. I

The guide frame 15 is provided with a plurality of adjustable legs 45, the ends of which rest against the wall of the, tank.

- At the connection between the bracket 10' and the back legs 8, a clamping bolt 46 is provided which. ma be tightened up by means of a handle In usin the apparatus it is set up against the side 0 the tank as indicated. The" cleats 7 en ge the ground in any inclined position the rame must assume. It is found in practice that the temperature on the ground close to the tank is not so high as to prevent the men from standing there while operating the apparatus. After the frame is set up the crank 38 is rotated. In a few moments the torch cuts the opening in the tank wall, after which a nozzle is introduced for supplying the foaming solution to the surface of the burning liquid. The gas hoses are of course provided wlth suitable valves, not illustrated.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is only one of the man embodiments this invention may take, an we do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the clalms, to the particular embodiment set forth.

What we claim is:

1. In a device for cutting an opening in a tank or the 1ike,.the combination of a support- 1 gmframe havin means enabling the same set up near t ewall of the tank a guide frame carried by the sup orting ame, a torch carried by the guide frame, and means for rotating the torchso as tdmovethe same in a circle adj aeent the face of the tank.

2. In a device for cutting an opening m the wall of-a tank or the like, the combination of r a supportin frame having means enabling the same to I e set up adjacent the wall of the tank, a rotary frame carried by the support-- ing frame, a torch carried on the rotary frame, mechanism associated with the rotar frame engaging its outer edge for rotating t e same, an means for actuating the said mechanism from the ground to rotate the rotary. frame.

3. In a device for cutting an opening in the wall of a tank or the like the combination of a supporti frame, having means enabling the same to e set u .on the ground adjacent the wall of the tank, a guide frame carried by the supporting frame, a rotary-frame car frame, a rotary frame carried in the guide ried by theguide frame, a torch, means for supporting the torch on the rotary frame so that when the rotary frame is rotated'the torch will move in a circle to burn an opening in the tank wall, means for maintaining a connection to the torch to supply the same with oxygen and acetylene while the same is rotating, and means for rotating-the rotaryframe.

4. In a device for cutting an opening in the wall of a tank or the like, the combination of a supporting frame having means enabling the same to be set up on the ground near the wall of the tank, a rotary-frame including a gear, a guide-frame supported on the supporting frame and carrying the gear, a torch, means for supporting the same on the gear, means for maintaining a connection to the torch. while the gear is rotating to supply oxygen and acetylene to the same, and means for-rotating the gear.

having means for engaging the tank wall as the rotary frame rotates, an oXy-acetylene torch supported on the carriage, means for rotating'the rotary frame, and meansfor maintalning a gas connection to the burner while the rotary frame is rotating. 4

,6. In a device for cutting a hole in the wall of a tank or the like, the combination of a supporting frame constructed to be set up on the ground adjacent the wall of the tank, a

guide-frame sup orted on the supporting rame, a rotary rame carried by the guideframe, an oxy-acetylene torch, means for supplying oxygen and acetylene to thetorchf ineluding a swlvel connection at the burner, and means for rotating the rotary frame to, move the torch in, acircle on the'wall of the tank.

7. In a device for-cutting an opening in the wall of a tank or the lik e,the-combination of a supporting frame constructed to be set up on the ground near the wall of thetank, a guide-frame supfported on' the supporting frame, a rotaryame'mountedto rotate in the guide frame comprising a ring-gear with a transverse bar, an oxy-acetylene torch connected with the said bar so as to move in a circle la'cent the tank wall when the ring, gear is rotated, means for rotating the rin connection to the burner including aswivel frame including a ring-gear, a carriage-supported on the ring-gear, an ony-acetylene maintaining the carriage in contact with the wall as the rotary frame rotates.

9. In a device for cutting .an opening the wall of a tank or the like, the combination of a supporting frame constructed tojbe set up ,On the ground near the tank wall, a carriage, a rotary frame supporting the carfiage, means for yieldingly holding the carriage against thetank wall, means for'rotatingthe' ,rotar'y frame, a torch supported on the carriage, and means for maintaining a gas con,-

is rotating. I 10. In .a device for cutting an opening in ,nection to the torch whilethe' rotary frame the wall of a tank or the like, the combination of asupporting frame having a'pai'r of feet in the form of bows adapted to rest upon the ground, a back leg. attached to the frame for bracing the same, a rotary frame supported on thesupporting frame, a torch carriedby the rotary frame, .a pipe connection passing" up the'back leg and having flexible connec tions connecting the same to the torch for supplying the same with gas.

11. In a device fer cuttingan in the wall of a tank or the like, the combination of a supporting frame constructed to be set up onthe ground near the tank, a rotary frame supported on the supporting frame, a

torch carried thereby so as to move in a'circle near the wall of the tank when the rotary frame rotates, meansassociated withthe r0-- taryframfor rotating it, a flexible shaft connected with the last named means, and a crank connected with the flexible shaft for rotating the same from the ound.

12. Ina device or cutting an opening in the wall of a tank or the like, the combination of a supporting frame comprising a main leg with laterally projecting bow-shaped feet at thelower' end of the same to rest upon the eg, a. guide frame su ported on the support ing frame, a rotary rame supported on the guide frame, a torch carried. on the rotary means for rotating the rotaryframe from the ground. I v

\ 13. In a device for cutting an o ening in a tank or .the like, the combination 0 a supporting frame having means enablingthe same to ,be set up near frame carried b, the supporting frame, a roe, wall of the tank, a guide ground, a back leg connected .With the main tary frame gui ed at its edge on the support- 1 frame, a torch 'carried'by the rotary frame, means for rotating the rotary frame so as to move the torch in a circle adjacent the face of ,the tank, and a swivel connection for supporting the torch on the rotary frame and having means for carrying the end of a hose.

. 14. Ina device for cutting an opening in the wall of a tank or the like, the combination of asupporting frame having means enabling the same to be set up on the ground near the wall of the tank, a guide frame supported on the supporting frame, a rotary frame mount-.

ed to rotate on the guide frame including a ring with a transverse bar, a torch having a swivel connection with said bar, and having means for securing the same in adjusted posi- T tions on the bar to regulate the diameter of the hole cut by the torch, means for rotating 1 the rotary frame, and means for maintaining a hose connection to the torch 15. In a device for cutting an opening in the wall of a tank, the combination of a supporting frame having means enabling the same to rest upon the ground and lean against the side wall of the tank, a guide frame having a joint connecting the same with the supportin frame enabling the uide frame to lie in a su bstantially vertical p ane substantially against the side of the tank, a rotary frame. 

